


up to the platform of surrender

by sympathy_for_hordak (sparrow0)



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Background Entrapta/Hordak, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Loyalty, Past Abuse, Post Season 4, Post-Canon, background Adora/Catra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrow0/pseuds/sympathy_for_hordak
Summary: Hordak attempts to negotiate with Glimmer about his fate. Adora intervenes.Far heavier on feelings than plot.Written for cruelfeline because she has excellent Hordak opinions.
Relationships: Adora & Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 90





	up to the platform of surrender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cruelfeline](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=cruelfeline).



Exactly as the hour struck midnight, Hordak walked into Bright Moon's war council chamber, where Glimmer sat alone.

"Hi, Hordak. What did you request this meeting for?" Glimmer asked.

He knelt before her. "Good evening, Your Majesty. I wished to offer you the opportunity to be entirely candid, without the complication of witnesses."

"Get up," Glimmer said, rubbing her eyes. "Candid about what?"

Hordak stood, wrists folded behind his back, ears low. "How do you wish to prove that the Etherian Horde is no longer a threat? I am at your service."

"I hadn't thought about it. Does that need proving? How do you prove that you haven't got an army?"

"Surely your people will want evidence that I have neither ability nor desire to raise another army against you." Hordak answered. "I have no intention of resisting."

"Resisting what?" Glimmer snapped. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Punishment for my misdeeds," Hordak announced, calmly, as though it should have been obvious. "At minimum, imprisonment and a requirement for me to openly recant and plead for mercy."

Glimmer stood up. "Stay here," she said carefully, then teleported away.

Hordak remained as still as possible, wishing he had been given permission to kneel. He was moving through wholly uncharted waters, and could not guess at what Glimmer might do next. Had he offended her so badly that she intended to return with some instrument, and begin demonstrating her displeasure immediately? Surely, he wasn't entirely disposable to her - almost certainly, probably, Entrapta's loyalty was too valuable for Glimmer to end him intentionally. Bright Moon probably wouldn't execute him, maybe, if for no other reason than his strategic value. 

Hordak attempted to stay motionless and breathe evenly, expressionless, compliant. 

~~~

Glimmer reappeared, Bow and Adora at her sides.

"Thanks for finding me, Glimmer, this seems super familiar. You may sit or kneel or whatever, Hordak, you're not in trouble," Adora said gently.

Hordak folded to his knees, shaking. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"The kneeling thing - that's about importance, isn't it?" Adora asked. "Trying to make yourself smaller and less threatening to show that you know Glimmer's in charge and you're not challenging her?" 

"Yes," Hordak replied. 

"You know we're not punishing anybody, though, right? This isn't the Horde," Bow said. 

Hordak shrugged. "I waged war on Etheria for two generations. I've done countless terrible things. Your people can't possibly expect you to ignore that."

Glimmer blinked at them. "And, what, any of that will somehow un-happen if we hurt you? What do I do with this?" 

Adora took Glimmer's hand. "Let me handle it, Your Majesty. Both of you, go back to bed, I'll translate from Horde into Princess for you in the morning."

"You're sure? You'll be okay?" Glimmer asked. 

"Yeah. I've got this," Adora said, squeezing Glimmer's hand and releasing it. "See you tomorrow." 

Glimmer and Bow teleported away. 

Adora sat sideways on the chair Glimmer had used, in front of Hordak. "Why did you ask Glimmer to meet you to discuss this?" 

"Instruction on rebel leadership was a part of conditioning. I tried to allow her to approach the matter at her own pace, but I grew...impatient." 

"What were you told?" 

"Those who rebel against the Horde are cruel, selfish, and unpredictable. They can be expected to show less mercy and generosity than the Horde. Avoid capture or surrender at all costs. When the Horde puts down rebellions, the followers are recruited, sometimes with fines or brief imprisonment. The leaders are disciplined and made to recant their ways, a process most of them do not survive." 

Adora sighed. "Bright Moon doesn't even have a prison. Did you ever guess that this rebellion might be kinder than the ones you were told about?" 

"Oh, I guessed. I hoped, long ago, and attempted to question captive enemies about it. That stopped when I captured your king, and he magically compelled me, in a way that made my fate in your hands very clear. I tried to destroy him, but you recovered him from Beast Island." 

"What did Micah do?"

"He forced me to answer truthfully: If I could be killed. How I could most easily be injured. What I feared. You could cause me to renounce anything you liked, with that knowledge. Between the healing and the mental magic, you could ensure my survival for years." 

"Hordak," Adora said. "If Micah tried anything like that, he'd have to go through most of the alliance to do it, starting with me. This isn't the Horde, okay?" 

"Yes, Your Highness," he said stiffly.

Adora winced. "Oh, right, that's another thing that confused me for the longest time. Nobody here assigned you to a commanding officer, did they?" 

"No, Your Highness, but I have no objection to my status. I am not demanding - " 

"Hush," Adora interrupted. "I know you're not. You're mistaken about what your status is. You weren't left without command because Bright Moon thinks you're unworthy, or because nobody wants to deal with leading you." 

Adora stood, lifting Hordak's chin with one hand. "Would you be willing to report to me? I've gotten used to princess informality, so I'd prefer to just be called Adora, but I don't mind other kinds of protocol." 

Hordak looked up at her. "Yes, Adora," he said.

"Cool, thanks," she said, settling onto the chair before him. "This isn't just about making things easier for Glimmer. I want to help you, too. You're brave and sort of terrifyingly loyal. And I defected from the Horde! I was a traitor and an enemy officer. I did not expect the welcome I received in Bright Moon or Plumeria or Salineas. Maybe it's only because I'm their legendary hero returned, but the princesses have been super nice to me." 

"I do not anticipate being welcomed into Salineas anytime soon, Adora." 

"Yeah, I just meant that you don't have to keep waiting for us to change our minds. Nobody is going to hurt you to make you prove you're good enough to keep. You're probably going to say the wrong things and make weird little mistakes, and it's going to be okay. You're going to be okay," Adora insisted. 

"With respect, Adora, this seems...implausible." 

"Yeah." She stretched. "Yeah, it does. I'm right, though, and Bow was right when he told me about it. Hey, does Entrapta have any idea this is happening?" Adora asked.

"Of course not. I have tried to shield her from this as long as possible."

"I'll walk you back to your rooms," Adora said, getting to her feet. "If she's awake, I should talk to her." 

~~~

"Hi!" Entrapta said brightly as Adora entered, Hordak behind her. "What brings you here, Adora?" 

Adora resisted the impulse to stand at attention. "Um. Entrapta. Hordak had some strange questions for Glimmer, and he's officially reporting to me now."

"What?" Entrapta snapped. "No. He's not yours, that's creepy, I don't care what he did! He's his own!" 

Adora did straighten her spine and cross her wrists behind her back, at that. "Entrapta, of course Hordak is his own. This is not a penalty." 

"Yes it is!" Entrapta insisted, hair stiffening. "He's not your weapon!" 

"I'd sooner drop dead and I almost did _ ,  _ Entrapta," Adora said, coldly furious. "I am not a weapon either, no thanks to you, or have you forgotten telling me I didn't  _ get _ to refuse? I had a ton of help from my friends when I left the Horde and I was a magic warrior lady who everybody liked because they wanted me to protect them from him!" Adora paused, then continued, more gently. "This continues until Hordak wants it to stop." 

"Oh," Entrapta said. 

"Yeah, oh." Adora took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. "I didn't abandon you, Entrapta, and I'm not gonna turn on you or your friend," Adora said. "I do think we should talk about what Hordak told Glimmer and me." 

~~~

When Adora returned to her room, Catra crowded her up against the wall almost immediately, her ears pinned back in dismay. "Hey, Adora, what did Sparkles need you for? Why did it take so long? Is somebody dead?" 

"Uh," Adora said, intelligently. "Catra. So. Hordak has been secretly freaking out, he finally talked to Glimmer about it, she grabbed me, and I appointed myself his commanding officer so Hordak would, like, breathe." 

"This is a terrible idea. Hordak is not your responsibility. Not everything is," Catra insisted. 

"I know, but Glimmer asked for my help, and they were really scaring each other," Adora said. 

"None of that matters! If Entrapta wants him loose for whatever reason, she can deal with his late night emotional problems." 

Adora tilted her head. "I don't think 'Entrapta and Hordak against the world' is the best path to a healthy alliance. Do you?" 

"Ugh. What, you want me to make friends with them? That's a really bad idea. Stay away from Hordak."

"You don't have to talk to either of them ever again, Catra, you get to decide who you hang out with. So do I."

"This is totally different!" Catra snapped. 

"How?" 

"I'm not asking you to hold my hand through talking to the vewy scawy pwincesses, I'm fine, my feelings aren't your problem."

"He didn't ask, either, and I don't think it's the princesses he's freaked out by, any more than I was." 

"So what's his problem?" 

"I think he's scared the people around him now are gonna act like Prime's Horde would have, if an enemy surrendered to them, which was pretty bad." 

"That kinda makes sense, I guess, Prime was terrible to him. And Hordak also...okay, you cannot tell anybody else about this, promise me," Catra insisted. 

"I promise."

"A little while after the portal, I pulled the power source for Hordak's armor out of his chest, and gave it back once he agreed to follow my plans for the Horde. He got - weird after that. I kept expecting him to retaliate but he acted like - I don't know. Like proving that I could have killed him made him want to be my friend." 

"Huh," Adora said. "Thanks for telling me."

"I'm not going near him now, though, and I wish you wouldn't, either." 

"I know, Catra, and I know I can handle this." 

~~~

"Good afternoon, everyone," Adora said, seated at the War Council table, Hordak standing at her side. "As Queen of Bright Moon, Glimmer will make the final ruling on this matter. I'm running this briefing as the person with the most knowledge of the issue. I've heard one version of events but I want to corroborate. Micah, what happened to you in the Fright Zone shortly before you were put on a transport to Beast Island?" 

"Hordak tried to interrogate me," Micah said. "He clearly had no idea how to contain or question a sorcerer, so I used truth spells to make him tell me stuff."

Adora nodded. "Do you remember any particular examples of what you asked and what you learned?"

"I asked Hordak to tell me if it was possible to kill him, and he said it very much was. So I asked how I could non-lethally incapacitate him, and he gave me a whole bunch of options, most of which I've forgotten. I do recall his body is so degraded under the armor that the average Etherian could very easily break his arms," Micah explained. 

"Hordak, any part of that you want to dispute?" Adora asked, not turning to look at him. 

"No, Adora," he said. 

Adora pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked at Micah, sitting beside his daughter. "Okay. Micah. Suppose I somehow wound up in charge of the Horde, instead of finding the sword, and that conversation happened with me. Given the precision and intensity of your magic, and the experiences I had with Shadow Weaver's magic, I would have one hundred percent assumed you intended to torture me to death and I would have either sent you to Beast Island or killed you immediately. I wouldn't have told anyone about any of it, and I'd avoid personally interrogating potentially magical prisoners in the future - let somebody else's mind get ripped open in anticipation of ripping open their body, right?" 

Adora continued, "One more thing. I want to add that if I discovered this as a cadet I would have wanted to protect Hordak from you. I'm glad I never heard about this because I would have been  _ so _ much harder for Glimmer to befriend, and  _ so _ much more panicked by the sword. Micah, any comment?" 

Micah was shocked, his voice unsteady. "I'm so sorry, I made a terrible mistake. Hordak, I gathered that information hoping to use it  _ in battle.  _ I would do anything to protect the people I love from an immediate, violent threat. It never occurred to me you thought I'd hurt a prisoner."

Hordak was open-mouthed and speechless. 

After a brief, awkward silence, Adora said, "It wouldn't have occurred to us that you would hesitate to do so."

"Hang on," Bow said. "So...since we were little kids, Hordak believed his options were 'definitely tortured into submission by us' or 'maybe welcomed back by Prime', no third choice? Well, that explains some stuff." 

Adora nodded. "It does, doesn't it." 

"Does it?" Hordak asked. "Intentions are hardly significant when one considers the scope of the destruction wrought. I raised armies and sent them against you, for decades." 

"Yeah, in order to not die horribly," Adora replied. 

"In what way does that make the least bit of difference?" Hordak asked. 

"The Horde wrecked my dad's village, but whether we hurt you or not, it's every bit as burnt," Bow said gently. "Tormenting you won't help anyone."

"But it will. It'll demonstrate your Queen's power and mercy - you can't mean to risk anyone thinking I tricked you into ignoring my misdeeds," Hordak responded. 

"It really doesn't sound like we'd need to do anything to convince you to openly condemn your actions as leader of the Horde. Would we?" Adora asked. 

"No, you wouldn't, you don't have to, but you could," Hordak answered. "I have no right to bargain here."

"Yeah," Adora confirmed. "You agreed to report to me, that makes your situation into my problem. Octavia is still out there somewhere, as are a lot of others, and decency to you might bring them in. Mermista, how would you ask me to proceed?"

"Really, me first? I hadn't thought about it," Mermista said slowly. "I want Salineas rebuilt, and the rest isn't important. Give Hordak ice cream or drown him, I do not care what happens to this guy. Wait, no, don't drown him, I don't want you to damage Bright Moon's reputation or start a war with Dryl. I guess you can do whatever won't bring rioting crowds or Entrapta down on us." 

"Wow, thanks," Entrapta said brightly. "It would be rude to make threats to my friends and allies at a war council meeting, so I'm not going to do that."

There was an extremely tense pause. 

"Would anyone else like to comment?" Adora asked. Perfuma's hand shot up. "Perfuma, what would you make happen, if I put you in charge of Hordak?"

"He should  _ definitely _ experience eating plants and other food that isn't bar-shaped," Perfuma said eagerly. "Poetry reading, too, and possibly really soothing morning and evening rituals with calming herbal tea and breathing exercises. Perhaps I'd ask you or Scorpia? I don't have a very deep understanding of the Horde." 

"With what goal?" Adora prompted. 

"Being gentle and positive with a friend of a friend who has had a really difficult time, obviously," Perfuma said. 

"Even if Hordak were solely responsible for the attempted destruction of your kingdom and the Heart Blossom?" Adora asked. 

"Yes," Perfuma said firmly. "Those things are in the past, but enlightenment directs our focus to the present." 

"Thanks, Perfuma, that helps," Adora said. "Hey look, no secret desire for vicious revenge there either, I was right."

"Okay, wow, I don't want to be mean, but it seems like the Horde is like a kind of fractal of terribleness? I don't like it," Perfuma admitted. 

Adora chuckled. "That's fair, I don't like it either."

"Precisely! Nobody likes the Horde," Hordak insisted, "we've been the scourge of your world for a generation. Surely the populace will demand some sort of retribution. That's how this works. I mean...you realize mind-wiping is a kindness?" 

Everyone but Adora objected at once. 

"Clearly, we don't," she added when the noise died down. "In what sense is  _ that _ a kindness?" 

"Reshaping someone who wants to serve you to your standards, rather than throwing them away, or - or responding to failure more harshly, is justified. Even if it's not - " Hordak glanced at Entrapta, then continued, " - politically viable here, it's deserved  _ sometimes, _ right?" 

"NO!" the entire alliance reiterated, horrified. 

Hordak stared at them. "Oh," he said softly. 

"Glimmer, my queen, your thoughts?" Adora asked. 

"Ugh, Horde Prime was the worst," Glimmer declared. "Hordak reports to you, Adora, for as long as you both want that to continue. This council will draft an official declaration of amnesty for the entire former Etherian Horde later this week. Any threat to any Etherian formerly of the Horde is to be brought to my attention."

"Um, we're not technically - " Adora started. 

"You let me vouch for you to my mom, Adora, when she welcomed you to Bright Moon, you are absolutely Etherian," Glimmer corrected. She looked up at Hordak. "You, too." 

He bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty." 

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from The Killers' ["Human."](https://genius.com/The-killers-human-lyrics)
> 
> This was influenced by some stuff cruelfeline said on Discord, by [this meta](https://cruelfeline.tumblr.com/post/190087922814/yall-know-what-kind-of-hordak-vibecheck-i-want) about the Princess Alliance's response to Hordak's situation, and by [this meta](https://cruelfeline.tumblr.com/post/189258249754/finding-myself-more-than-a-bit-morbidly-fascinated) about Hordak's arms/anatomical situation.


End file.
